Tag Archives: marvel comics movies

Update 09-03-14:GAH! Toronto Fan Expo was a ton of fun, but the preparation, time spent there, time traveling home and recovery have and ARE costing me greatly in terms of productivity. I am frantically trying to update/backdate new comics so there are 4 a week for every week. I’m doing my best. Luckily I don’t have much travel planned for the rest of the year.

COMMENTERS: Who was your favorite super hero to ever be portrayed against their established type (different race, different gender, etc) in film or on TV? I’m sure Sam Jackson as Nick Fury is near the top of everyone’s list.

Nobody complained when Marvel made Nick Fury black in 2001 for their Ultimate Universe, because he was based on Sam “The Man” Jackson. A decade later, who do most people associate with Nick Fury? A white dude in blue spandex? Or Sam Jackson?

I think the problem most people have with it is that it’s established that he’s Sue’s brother. Sure there probably are actual racists mad about a white character being played by a black person, but the majority of the people that are mad about it are comic book geeks who hate continuity changes for what they don’t see as a reason. Same reaction with the Mandarin.

I think, under certain conditions, it could work. Those being: Sue is also black or Johhny was adopted at a young age or even as a baby. As a teen, doubtful. I I think those 2 are the only way the Sue/Johnny brother/sister dynamic within the larger dynamic of the FF family works.

That really begs the question “where are the FF during the Avengers film”?

Obviously Fury would know about the FF and if it was important enough for him to find Banner in the middle of nowhere, then it should have been important enough for him to call his sister and get some help from “the smartest man on the planet”, Reed Richards.

Not to mention that the other FF members could have been phenomenally helpful once the fighting started — after all, they called in Hawkeye and Cap for that when their powers pale in comparison to the other Avengers. Any member of the FF on the other hand are right up there with Thor, Hulk and Iron Man.

Well okay, maybe the human rubber band isn’t all that helpful in a fight, but he’s “the smartest man on the planet”, so…

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Since when is Starbuck *not* a superhero? [S]he can fly, has Stark-level field-op tech-hacking skills, can shoot just about anything with a barrel, and has more lives than a DC second-stringer. In both incarnations.

Not a hero, but I thought the casting decision for Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) in Daredevil was just really poorly made. I’d hate to think that anyone would consider me a racist for wanting a murderous criminal to be portrayed as white, but I felt like there were real historical reasons for his character being white. Fisk as representing organized crime in a way represents both the criminal underworld and “the man” as in the cops, the government and even corporate America. Shit, god knows he’s got more than his fair share of influence in all of those places anyway. But really, ‘the man” as in “the white man” who keeps everyone else down. Maybe nobody else agrees with me, but I thought it was important to the character. I would have liked to see him played by Pruitt Taylor Vince.

Denzel Washington as Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing. I know that’s not a superhero movie, but I mention it because I’d love to see them use a similar approach as the model for a black Johnny Storm. They never mention his race in the film. You just roll with it because he’s Denzel and he’s awesome and OF COURSE he’s in charge, even if it is seventeenth century Italy.

I figured it was because it would have been awkward to have Chris Evans play Human Torch again, so they went for someone who looks nothing like him to distract you. Although I’d love to see the interaction between Cap and Johnny if both were still played by Evans…

Personally, I’d like to see a black Reed Richards over a black Human Torch. Really smart, uptight, leader-guy who happens to be black? It could totally work. Plus, then you don’t have to have the whole mixed-race siblings issue with Sue and Johnny.

Welcome to my life in a 24 hour geek news cycle. I remember when I was a kid and we weren’t able to know ANYTHING about movies or tv shows until we saw the trailers or commercials. Even then the message was very carefully controlled by the studios and producers. The stars never went on Carson and dished on who they beat out for the role or how many times the show runner got fired. We just took our geek media as it was presented without the burden of behind the scenes knowledge. Often times, shows I liked would get cancelled and I wouldn’t even know until it just never came back the next season. You’d read a one sentence blurb about a new Batman or Superman movie in a Wizard Magazine, and then… nothing. No idea where it went or why it never materialized. Of course, the irony of it all is that NOW you can find the answers to all of those questions online. I know exactly why Nicholas Cage was never Tim Burton’s Man Of Steel. Honestly, I’m just grateful for that one. We, as geeks, dodged a Batman & Robin ’97 sized bullet there.

I say the intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the media I choose to consume is a burden, but I really do enjoy it. I like the anticipation that it builds, and the satisfaction of being “in the know.” The burden part comes in when too much familiarity with the “sausage-making” process of geek pop culture can lead to unrealistic expectations and eventual disappointment, either from getting your hopes up too high based on 100’s of blog posts, interviews and YouTube clips, or from prejudging a project based on any of the aforementioned data distribution methods.

All in all the lowering of the barrier to information is overwhelmingly a good thing. As consumers we now have nearly as much privilege to information as would have been reserved for the people that actually worked on the projects themselves. But there was a (now lost) purity and innocence in finding out about a movie for the first time when you saw the trailer or the poster, and then not knowing anything else about it until you were in the theater 3 months later. I think it was easier to just like things back then without having to be an expert on them.

And thus ends my first mini story arc. I hope you are enjoying the new format so far. It’s been a lot of fun to write, but there have also been several unexpected challenges. I found myself asking questions like, “Wait, should I show them going INTO the theater? Is the setting clear? Can you tell how much time has passed since the last comic?” Simple stuff, but stuff I’ve never had to deal with none the less. I am really enjoying the ability to expand on a joke or a premise from day to day instead of trying to cram it all into one comic or truncate everything I want to say. It feels like the room suddenly got bigger and I have more space to walk around. I am going to do one or two stand alone comics next, then pick up with a new short story line. I suspect that’s how things will go for the time being.

I am going to be at Dallas Comic Con this weekend with Randy Milholland of Something Positive. I will ONLY BE THERE SATURDAY. Randy will be there Saturday and Sunday. You can find us at table 132. I will have books, prints, stickers and sketch cards, but no shirts. Really testing the waters on this one. If you guys come out and make it a good show, I will probably be back next year in full force.

Friday (5/11/12) was the 5 year anniversary of HijiNKS ENSUE. Thanks to all the Fancy Bastards for the kind words and encouragement that have been pouring in via email, comments and twitter over the last week. I couldn’t do this weird, amazing job without you, nor would I want to.

I have and idea for an Avengers themed restaurant. I bet people would really enjoy the experience of dressing up in fancy costumes, getting the shit kicked out of them for a few hours, then being fed Middle Eastern food with questionable ingredients while they bled all over the floor. It’s like Medieval Times but awesome. I am looking for investors, and this is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Watch your step, the ground floor is covered in our patrons’ blood.

COMMENTERS: What famous movie scene do you think would make for a great (or terrible) theme restaurant? How about a Beetlejuice restaurant where your shrimp cocktail turns into a hand and tries to kill you? Or a Pulp Fiction restaurant where you get to eat classic American diner food while two hitmen in their underwear try to diffuse a robbery? Can you imagine how much fun it would be to eat under a table with your face on the floor while everyone is screaming and waiving guns around?

Alternate Title: “A Shawarma Bees” – I did not use this title because, despite making me laugh for an hour, it doesn’t make any sense.

Read more about the new direction I am taking the comic in and how you can help HERE if you haven’t already.

Gigantic thanks to everyone that has donated in the last couple of days, especially to the new donation subscribers. If you enjoy HE and would like to see it continue and even flourish, I have added $2, $3, and $4 monthly donation subscription options. If you can spare $2 a month for a bunch of free comics, I would consider you to be a pretty awesome type of person.

I’m not sure a Marvel movie post-credits scene has ever gotten me quite so excited-pants as the one in The Avengers. Who knows if they will follow up that plot thread in the first sequel, or save it for a third? Either way, based on how well executed this first outing was, and assuming Whedon will he at the helm of future sequels, I have high hopes for where this is all going. [SPOILERS: It is going to space and shit is going to get CRAZY real.]

So after the post-credits scene, all the chumps (and all the teens… TEEEEEENS!) piled out of the theater like a bunch of chumps. When are chumps going to learn to stop playing themselves like chumps all the time? The post-post credits scene was… it’s basically the geek film equivalent of DaVinci’s “The Last Supper.” [no pun intended]. Note to self: Actually draw that. That would be hilarious.

On a special note, a MAGICAL thing happened to me at Starbucks tonight. My wife and I were witness to quite possibly THE WORST first date any two human beings have ever had. I live tweeted the whole thing and have collected the unbearably awkward joy for you HERE. I don’t know why I was chosen to receive this gift, but I will do my best to honor it and share it with the world.

COMMENTERS: I’m going to tread lightly since I know not all of you have seen The Avengers yet. Don’t click this link if you don’t want the 2nd post-credits scene spoiled. So a certain type of… ethnic… product has seen a MAJOR boost in sales since The Avengers came out. Has there ever been a movie that made you aware of a food, product or any other useful and enjoyable thing that WASN’T specifically an advertisement? Did you start wearing trench coats after The Matrix? Did you start wearing cleric’s robes after The Matrix: Revolutions? What’s wrong with you?

NOTE TO RSS READERS: Based on all of your feedback I have decided to try just putting a thumbnail image with full blog posts in the RSS feed. Seems like most of you don’t mind clicking through since you are using the RSS just a reminder that there is a new comic. Here’s hoping this doesn’t impair the usability of the site for you, since it has the potential to greatly impact my ad revenue. I am also working on the possibility of a premium RSS feed for donation subscribers.

UPDATE 05/18/12:Donation subscribersof any level will get access to an RSS feed with the full comic in it.